Winner: Golin/Harris Forrest
Campaign: Bank Mandiri Global Communications Plan
Budget: Budget was $125,000 plus out of pocket expenses for frequent travel to Jakarta and other locations.
Research and measurement are the most underused tools in PR arsenals. So it's ironic that a company with next to no experience using PR made in-depth market research its first
communications priority.
The Asian financial crisis of 1997-98 left Indonesia's banking sector in a shambles. Banks had been largely unregulated and corrupt. The government took over after the collapse
to recapitalize, restructure and sell off the banks. One of the largest restructurings was Bank Mandiri. Within two years, the new bank had streamlined operations, reduced non-
performing loan loss by 80 percent and became profitable.
But perception of the bank remained negative. The bank called in Golin/Harris Forrest-Hong Kong as it prepared for an anticipated IPO and asked the firm to create an IPO
communications plan. The agency immediately realized more than an IPO plan was necessary and recommended an overall review of the bank's communications needs. Once the bank
agreed, Golin/Harris spent a tight one-month time period conducting the research through interviews with 41 stakeholders, including members of management, Asian banking analysts
and banking media. Interviewers included some former bankers, which helped build trust and rapport with the subjects.
The PR team found that management was very united in its vision of the bank - a good thing. But results of research with other groups were not as positive. International media
used words like "lumbering," "corrupt" and "inefficient" to describe the bank. Once the team had uncovered the issues that concerned various audiences, it developed a
comprehensive communications plan including the dozen or so issues the bank absolutely had to address in its communications. Team members assembled a 140-page document including
overall issues, recommendations and action plans. The report included charts of stakeholders, actions and how actions like advertising or a white paper would affect the audiences.
Although the IPO still hasn't gotten off the ground due to international economic conditions, Bank Mandiri has adopted a whole new view on communications. The bank is executing
on the new plan, and measurement is still a key PR tool: "Next week we'll be giving our next perception audit to see how we've moved the needle," says Anne Forrest, G/H managing
director-Asia.
(Contact: Anne Forrest, +852 2522 6475)